1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to bone anchored hearing devices, and more particularly, to customization of bone anchored hearing devices.
2. Related Art
To improve hearing for many hearing impaired individuals, hearing aids that amplify sound to stimulate the eardrum are often utilized. When using these types of hearing prostheses the auditory meatus is generally completely or substantially occluded by a hearing plug or by the hearing aid itself to prevent undesirable acoustic feedback. These plugs may cause the recipient discomfort, eczema, chronic inflammations and/or chronic infections in the auditory canal.
Additionally, there are other types of hearing prostheses that improve hearing for hearing impaired individuals. These types of devices include bone conducting or bone anchored hearing devices (“bone conducting devices”), which transmit sound information to a recipient's inner ear via vibration of the skull bone. When anchored to the bone, such bone conducting devices are generally connected to an implanted titanium screw installed and osseointegrated in the mastoid. The sound is then transmitted via the skull bone to the cochlea (inner ear). This type of bone conducting device generally allows the recipient to perceive sound regardless of whether there is disease or missing parts in the middle ear.
Traditionally, bone conducting devices are problematic since customization of the hearing device for each recipient, if even possible, is done manually, and optimum settings for an individual are difficult to obtain. For example, if a recipient has difficulty perceiving sound, the recipient may only be able to adjust the overall volume of the device. Further, recipient's hearing abilities generally vary significantly, making setting of the bone conducting device complicated. For example, many recipients hear relatively well at some frequencies, but very poorly at others.
Still further, the sound conduction conditions (i.e., the body and head of the recipient, the bone anchored implant and the external hearing device) are different for each recipient, which makes pre-setting of the hearing device impracticable. For example, resonance frequencies typically occur at different frequencies for each recipient.